Maizri Chandler
Kelly Bird, Linfield Sports Communications
Linfield women's lacrosse senior Maizri Chandler

D3 Week Wildcat Spotlight: Maizri Chandler

By Karlie VerCauteren '27

CHANGE AGENT

Gaining control over her own personal struggles is leading to Maizri Chandler to make a difference in women’s healthcare.

Maizri Chandler has learned throughout a lifetime of playing Lacrosse to be strong and fight for what she believes in. 

The Linfield University junior and Scappoose, Oregon, resident says her parents met playing lacrosse at a “small D3 school in Indiana” and “got me and my brother into it really young. We had the tiny little sticks as soon as we could walk.” 

Maizri Chandler

By the time she started second grade, Chandler was on a team coached by her mom and has been playing competitively ever since. Even with how central lacrosse is to her family, there was never any outside pressure on Chandler to stick with the sport. 

Having dedicated time when action wins over thought is crucial for Chandler, who spent many years struggling with feelings of insecurity. 

“It definitely was my own choice. I’ve always loved lacrosse,” she says. “It’s the one time I can kind of turn my brain off and just go out there and have fun. It’s like muscle memory, my body just knows what to do.”
Senior Maizri Chandler

She explains that while she was doing better toward the end of high school, attending Linfield has been an absolute game-changer for her self-esteem. 

With her teammates at her side, Chandler is progressing with “feeling comfortable and confident taking up space; (understanding) I deserve to be there, I deserve to be heard and be loud.” 

And as far as lacrosse goes, “Maizri is very patient and determined and will always strike back with her famous rocker dodge,” says Caity Babcock, referring to an attack technique used by players.

As Chandler’s teammates have watched her grow, they have developed a deep respect and love for her.

"One of the kindest people I know. She always has my back, on and off the field, and is always there to support me. Her kindness and smile always brighten my day.”
Teammate Caity Babcock

Outside of lacrosse, Chandler is a public health major and also plans on earning a nursing degree. “Initially coming in, I wanted to just be a nursing major,” she says. But reflecting on both her lacrosse aspirations and the state of health care and the world made her realize she desired a different approach to her education. “(Public health) is so interesting. I feel like it sets you up so well for nursing and it’s more of a well-rounded experience.”

While there are a multitude of areas Chandler feels passionate about working in, “I would definitely be interested in being a nurse in women’s healthcare . . . It’s something I take personally as a woman . . . It’s so sad to me that there are so many women in the country that don’t have access to healthcare (that) should be a universal right. I know it’s going to cost the lives of so many women and children and (decrease) their quality of life.”

Maizri Chandler

As someone who has “always been a very empathetic person,” Chandler is enormously unsettled by the current state of healthcare and wants to improve that system from the inside-out. “I just want to be someone to listen to them and talk to them and just be there.”

Chandler is already doing work that perfectly combines her passions for sports and supporting people through their health journeys. “I’m a CrossFit trainer at a nonprofit gym and we provide free CrossFit for people in recovery from substance use disorders, mental health disorders, eating disorders, anything like that. I’m double certified as a CrossFit trainer and a recovery mentor . . . we have a community, we have mentorship, we connect people with job resources, transportation, and housing.” 

The connection Chandler has to her gym is highly personal and involves a journey she does not often discuss. “I am in eating disorder recovery. I have been for almost three years now. My mom actually found this gym for me when I was going into my senior year of high school.”

Maizri Chandler

In that time, Chandler worked one-on-one with a personal trainer who she now describes as her “second mom.” Chandler has a powerful testament to the role of that gym in her recovery journey, saying “that was finally the one thing that stuck for me in my recovery; getting healthy, focusing on myself and getting stronger and more confident.”

With grit and dedication, she has made remarkable progress and her trainer could clearly see Chandler’s enormous potential. She was offered an internship and became certified as a trainer within a year. Mentoring people through their recovery journeys has helped Chandler to embrace hers and all the ways it has shaped who she is today. 

Maizri Chandler, Linfield Women's Lacrosse Roster

“Coming in last year, I didn’t want it to become part of my identity. I just wanted to finally be a normal college-age kid and just experience that. But it is a big part of who I am, and it could help people by sharing it,” she says. 

This mindset exemplifies both Chandler’s tenacity and caring spirit, which will set her up to be a fantastic nurse and changemaker. As she moves forward, she will continue to learn that it is not her struggles that define her, but the grace with which she has overcome them and the way she is using them to power a future of service and care. 

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